Trading Update

RNS Number : 8688Q

GB Group PLC

21 April 2009

 



Embargoed until 7.00 a.m.

21 April 2009

GB GROUP PLC 

('GB' or the 'Group')

Trading Update

GB, the UK's leading identity management business, today announces a trading update for the year ended 31 March 2009.

Overview

The Group has completed a year of good progress and expects to report growth in revenue for the financial year to approximately £23.8 million (2008: £19.4 million), an increase of 23% compared to last year. The Group's investment in infrastructure and people to develop its identity management business has continued.  The increase in Group revenue more than offset these additional costs. Accordingly, the Group is expected to announce profit before tax and share-based payments for the year ended 31 March 2009, in line with market expectations of approximately £1.66 million (2008: £0.21 million loss). 

Further highlights for the year to 31 March 2009 are as follows:

• Growth during the year came principally from a strong performance in GB's DataAuthentication business, which provides electronic age and identity verification services, and recorded an increase in revenue of approximately 55%.  Revenue growth came both from new clients signed up during the year and increased usage from its existing client base.

• GB's DataIntegrity and DataSolutions businesses, which provide identity-based marketing and tracing services, improved profitability due to better gross margins, cost restructuring and a one-off settlement of license arrears.

• Net cash balances were £4.5 million at 31 March 2009 (2008: £4.3 million) after the payment of a dividend during the year of 1.0p per share (2008: 0.75p), amounting to £0.8 million, and investment in capital expenditure of £0.4 million.

Outlook 

GB's performance in the current financial year will be influenced by the continuing challenging economic conditions and their impact on our clients' levels of business, but we look forward to continued growth this year.

The Group's longer term growth prospects are underpinned by an increasing need for businesses to verify and manage their customers online. Additionally, a new industry sector of 'identity management' is emerging that deals not only with how businesses verify and manage the identity of their customers online, in order to minimise fraud and regulatory risk, but also with how they develop relationships with those customers to maximise revenue opportunities.  GB has the capability to continue its lead in this emerging industry sector and will invest accordingly to maximise this opportunity over the long term.

The Group will provide further details of its trading performance at the time of its annual results announcement, which it expects to release in late May 2009. 

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For further information, please contact:

GB Group plc	01244 657333
Richard Law, Chief Executive Dave Wilson, Finance Director
Weber Shandwick Financial  Nick Oborne Clare Perks	020 7067 0700
Website	www.gb.co.uk

Notes to Editors

About GB Group plc

The most successful organisations recognise the value of understanding your individual identity - who you are, what you need and what you like. GB combines this concept of identity with technology to create an environment of trust so that organisations can connect, communicate and transact with consumers safely, responsibly and profitably. We call this identity management.

GB Group has three complementary identity management offerings:

• Identity Verification - combating ID fraud, money laundering and under-age gambling 

• Identity Capture and Maintenance - providing accurate and up-to-date customer information for your contact strategy 

• Identity Analysis - understanding, targeting and retaining profitable customers 

This enables our clients to make informed business decisions based on a thorough knowledge of consumer identity and behaviour, leading to more effective communication and interaction with the customer.

GB is listed on the London Stock Exchange (GBG). For more information, please visit GB's website: www.gb.co.uk. 

GB Group - because identity matters™  

 

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